University at Albany men's lacrosse coach Scott Marr oversaw work being done on his house while he talked about the 2019 schedule that was released on Wednesday.

Both tasks are about renovation. On the one hand, he and his wife are re-siding their home in Clifton Park and having the front entrance refurbished.

On the other hand, Marr is trying to keep his team's house in order despite losing four Inside Lacrosse All-Americans from last year's team that reached the NCAA championship weekend for the first time.

He's doing it while facing what Marr described as the most challenging schedule his team has encountered in his 19 seasons as Great Danes coach.

"Not only because of the schedule itself and the teams, but also the position we're in as far as what we lost,'' Marr said. "We are a younger team, so it's going to definitely be a challenge."

UAlbany opens the season on Feb. 16 at Syracuse, a team that's likely to have a long memory after the Great Danes crushed the Orange 15-3 at the Carrier Dome last season.

That's just one of five opponents who reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including home games against the past two national champions. Maryland comes to Casey Stadium on March 9 and Yale visits on April 19.

Yale defeated UAlbany twice last season, including a 20-11 rout in a national semifinal at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The Bulldogs went on to beat Duke for the NCAA title.

Then UAlbany had a third setback against Yale. Record-setting faceoff specialist TD Ierlan decided to transfer from the Great Danes to the Bulldogs in June.

Besides his departure, the Great Danes graduated attack Connor Fields, midfielder Kyle McClancy and goalkeeper JD Colarusso, a trio of All-Americans, in addition to other mainstays.

But Marr said this schedule isn't too much for a group that will be depending on some new faces. He maintained the goal is to reach the NCAA Tournament for a sixth straight year, get back to championship weekend and win it next season.

"It's exciting,'' he said. "This is what we try to accomplish with the program, is build it to be able to compete at this level. Our kids are excited about it and when you go out recruiting, you can tell kids these are the quality teams you're playing. It certainly is good for recruiting as well, and it gives us two opportunities (league champion or at-large) to make the tournament and be in position to be the No. 1 team in the country like we were last year."

UAlbany started 10-0 last season and achieved a No. 1 ranking for the first time before being upset by Maryland-Baltimore County. The Great Danes still won their fifth America East title in six years.

The Great Danes' biggest returning star is sophomore attack Tehoka Nanticoke, the America East Rookie of the Year, who left school this semester for personal reasons. Marr said Nanticoke will re-enroll in school and play in 2019.

"We're 95 percent done with everything that has to be done,'' Marr said. "There's a process you've got to go through when a kid withdraws from school that has to go through the NCAA ... Everything's headed in the right direction. He's ready to go."

Marr said he'll use 10 to 15 players who haven't seen much playing time, including sophomore faceoff specialists Austin Jones and Anthony Altimari and junior goalie Nate Siekierski. There's also a new defensive coordinator, UAlbany graduate John Maloney, after Liam Gleason left to become head coach at Siena.

"We need to grow and we have since our (fall) scrimmages," Marr said. "The identity is starting to come through. It's always a work in progress, any team."

UAlbany men's lacrosse schedule

Feb. 16 at Syracuse TBA

Feb. 23 at Drexel 12 p.m.

March 2 at Cornell 3 p.m.

March 5 UMASS 5 p.m.

March 9 MARYLAND 3 p.m.

March 16 UMASS LOWELL* 3 p.m.

March 23 at Binghamton* 1 p.m.

March 27 at Harvard 7 p.m.

March 30 HARTFORD* 3 p.m.

April 6 at Vermont* 2:30 p.m.

April 13 UMBC* 7 p.m.

April 19 YALE 7 p.m.

April 26 at Stony Brook* 7 p.m.

*America East Conference game

Note: While Siena is not back on the regular-season schedule, UAlbany will play host to the Saints in a scrimmage on Feb. 9.